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Lausanne, Switzerland, June 13, 2016 – Colombia became the final team to book their ticket to the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix Group 3 Finals on Sunday night, while China, Brazil and Russia finished the opening weekend of Group 1 action unbeaten and Puerto Rico put down a marker for the Group 2 Finals by completing the Preliminary Round with six wins and no losses.

Madelaynne Montano’s 17 points helped carry Colombia to a 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 25-12) win over Group 3 Finals hosts Kazakhstan to secure their place at the finale alongside Peru and Croatia.

Cuba had given themselves a slim chance at leapfrogging the Colombians to the final with a straight sets (25-13, 25-12, 25-20) victory over Algeria. But the South American side came through and delivered the two sets they required to earn a ticket to Kazakhstan and the chance at promotion to Group 2.

Meanwhile, Peru’s Angela Leyva’s impressive scoring streak continued as she claimed 26 points in Peru’s 3-1 (16-25, 25-21, 25-13, 25-22) win over Croatia; the Czech Republic and the Dominican Republic put on a volleyball clinic as the former claimed a thrilling 3-2 (25-22, 15-25, 25-21, 24-26, 15-8) win in just over two hours and Mexico condemned Australia to a sixth defeat, with the Volleyroos ending their 2016 campaign still searching for a first ever victory in the tournament.

Group 1 will continue into a second week with China and Brazil both looking strong having dropped just a set each in front of their home fans in Ningbo and Rio de Janeiro respectively.

China made it win number 21 against USA, claiming a 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 15-25, 25-23) victory in Ningbo to end the weekend top of the pile. It included a sensational rally which highlighted the fighting spirit this Chinese team has.

“I hope my players have gained experience from this week's matches,” Lang Ping said after the USA match. “Although we won the pool, the results don't mean much, because this USA team isn't the full-strength squad. Some of their best players, such as their main setter Alisha Glass, didn't play much today. We should not get carried away by the victory.”

However, Russia, led by the talismanic Nataliya Goncharova, are breathing down the necks of their Brazilian and Chinese rivals. They are also unbeaten, despite the best efforts of a dogged Turkish side who were eventually held off in five breathless sets (26-24, 20-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-10). Goncharova added 19 points to her weekend tally, taking it to 55, third in top scorers table behind Turkey’s Polen Uslupehlivan on 60 and the Netherlands’ Lonneke Slöetjes on 68.

In fact, it was 26 points from Slöetjes that helped the Dutch finish the weekend on a high in Kaliningrad, as they beat European neighbours Belgium in four sets (25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 25-20) to go into week 2 in fifth place. It was the world No.14’s tenth win in eleven World Grand Prix matches, and stands them in good stead as they head to Bari, Italy for the next round.

Elsewhere in Group 1, Thailand claimed a first win of the tournament, giving Germany their third defeat in a row with a 3-1 (16-25, 28-26, 25-22, 25-16) triumph and Italy continued their winning streak against Japan, taking it to four wins in the last four encounters with an edgy 3-2 (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-27, 15-8) win. That included a 30-point haul for Paola Egonu, the second highest number of points scored by a single player in a World Grand Prix match this year after Angela Leyva of Peru and Berenika Tomsia of Poland scored 31 against Kazakhstan and Argentina respectively.

There was still plenty to play for in Group 2 despite the finalists being decided on Saturday.

Puerto Rico will be the only side moving onto Bulgaria and the Finals unbeaten. They defeated fellow finalists Poland in straight sets (25-21, 25-21, 25-23), their second win over the team this year following a five-set win in the World Grand Prix on June 5.

Finals hosts Bulgaria had to work hard to overcome Canada, eventually holding on for a 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 21-25, 28-26, 15-10) with assistant coach Antonina Zetova later admitting that the side had “underestimated” the women from the great white north. It was the highest scoring match of the tournament so far, with 219 points scored in a 2 hour 10 minute marathon of a match.

Dominican Republic also had a tough final outing, carving out a 3-2 (25-22, 15-25, 25-21, 24-26, 15-8) win over a Czech Republic side determined to claim a third win in the tournament.

Finally, Argentina may have given Kenya a tough 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-17) defeat, but the African side can once again take heart from the performance of Mercy Moim, who was top scorer with 18 points and continues to be the linchpin of the team.

Group 1 will continue into a second week with Bari, Italy; Macau, China and Long Beach, USA all set to welcome the world’s top teams.

Group 2 and 3 move to Finals week in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and Almaty, Kazakhstan respectively as this exciting edition of the World Grand Prix continues.

Top Scorer by Day

31 - Angela Leyva of Peru v Kazakhstan on June 3

25 - Bethania De La Cruz De Peña of Dominican Republic v Argentina on June 4